Palace gets a financial reprieve

Tryon Palace, seen here in a file photo, will receive $3 million from the state in 2014-15.

Photo by Bill Hand/Sun Journal Staff

By Bill Hand, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 08:50 PM.

Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens dodged a bullet when $400,000 the state previously pulled from its proposed budget was put back in and passed Saturday morning.

The 2014-15 budget contributed to the historical attraction amounts to $3,042,252, money which goes to paying salaries and other operating costs of the grounds.

The Palace complex features a reconstruction of the original “palace” first completed by the colonial governor, William Tryon, in 1770. The grounds also includes formal gardens, historic buildings and the History Center. Many of the buildings are filled with antiquities covering Colonial and antebellum periods in the South.

The budget matches the 2012-13 budget received from the state. Originally, legislators had planned to cut the palace budget by $400,000, a move, according to Director Philippe Lafargue, that would have forced the Palace to eliminate 10 of its fulltime positions.

The Palace has taken hits in its budget the past. Prior to 2010, legislatures had provided the historic site a roughly $4.6 million in its bi-annual budget, but severe cuts resulted in Tryon Palace losing 43 percent of that budget, Lafargue said. “With heavy budget cuts, we lost a total of 33 positions,” he said.

“With the loss of positions you reduce programs, plus (close) buildings. But then you lose admissions,” he emphasized.

When the work first began on rebuilding Tryon Palace and its grounds in 1945, the idea was that the state would cover all operating expense, but over time that has changed, with the government “challenging” the site to raise half its funds privately, according to John Ward, vice-chairman of the Tryon Palace Commission, the state-appointed advisory board to the historic site. He stated that the Palace has worked hard in that direction, to the point that it now raises 47 percent of its own funds through.

Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens dodged a bullet when $400,000 the state previously pulled from its proposed budget was put back in and passed Saturday morning.

The 2014-15 budget contributed to the historical attraction amounts to $3,042,252, money which goes to paying salaries and other operating costs of the grounds.

The Palace complex features a reconstruction of the original “palace” first completed by the colonial governor, William Tryon, in 1770. The grounds also includes formal gardens, historic buildings and the History Center. Many of the buildings are filled with antiquities covering Colonial and antebellum periods in the South.

The budget matches the 2012-13 budget received from the state. Originally, legislators had planned to cut the palace budget by $400,000, a move, according to Director Philippe Lafargue, that would have forced the Palace to eliminate 10 of its fulltime positions.

The Palace has taken hits in its budget the past. Prior to 2010, legislatures had provided the historic site a roughly $4.6 million in its bi-annual budget, but severe cuts resulted in Tryon Palace losing 43 percent of that budget, Lafargue said. “With heavy budget cuts, we lost a total of 33 positions,” he said.

“With the loss of positions you reduce programs, plus (close) buildings. But then you lose admissions,” he emphasized.

When the work first began on rebuilding Tryon Palace and its grounds in 1945, the idea was that the state would cover all operating expense, but over time that has changed, with the government “challenging” the site to raise half its funds privately, according to John Ward, vice-chairman of the Tryon Palace Commission, the state-appointed advisory board to the historic site. He stated that the Palace has worked hard in that direction, to the point that it now raises 47 percent of its own funds through.

Nelson McDaniel, president of the Tryon Palace Foundation, which oversees private funding, noted that this has been a great achievement.

“When we’re talking about the 53-47, we’re talking about only operating costs,” he said. “The vast majority of the funding for Tryon Palace has been private.”

He pointed out that all capital expenses — including the acquisition of buildings and antiquities and the development of new projects — is raised privately. In these areas the state has only contributed in the cost of building the North Carolina History Center, he noted.

McDaniel noted that, in addition to private funds, the Palace relies heavily on creative budgeting and volunteers to make programs operate.

“Even in these challenging times Philippe and the Tryon Palace staff agreed to reopen the Academy with a Civil War exhibit,” he pointed out as an example. While the Palace staff and representatives from the NC Historical Resources put the display together, private funding paid for it, and “the exhibits are open thanks to volunteers. It’s all volunteer efforts.”

The Palace uses 440 volunteers, LaFargue said, saving more than half a million dollars in wage costs. Additionally, the Palace employs 55 full-time staff members and about 30 part-timers, the latter working primarily as ticket sellers and guides. As to the volunteers, “Twenty years ago they just did Christmas decorations,” Lafargue said, “But now they’re in all areas.”

The Palace has begun hosting weddings as a means of raising income and has also bumped up ticket sales.

“We had a great fiscal year from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013,” Lafargue pointed out. “Our attendance was up by 13 percent, and attendance receipts were up by 17 percent.”

Ticket receipts are used for upkeep of property, and Lafargue said the additional funds in this area are needed.

Under the current budget constraints, Lafargue said, the Palace will continue to work to grow and improve its presentation of history. “Are there new programs coming up?” he said. “There will be different programs coming up. Retooled programs, updated programs.”

New programs will most likely be introduced as older programs may also be phased out. “It’s going to take five to six years to get things settled a bit,” he guessed, “to get to a new groove where we can pace differently. But right now ... we need to be flexible and open minded to move forward.”

Lafargue, Nelson and Ward all expressed their belief that part of what convinced the legislature was the Palace’s ability to creatively address its financial shortfalls and build its business.

“I believe that teaching history is a patriotic duty and that our volunteers and donors have stepped up to our duty,” McDaniel said, “And this restoration of funds shows that the state government is appreciative of that and wants to continue its partnership.”